Create MULTI-STEP Lead Forms for Membership Directory Websites

First… What Is The BD Lead System? (00:00:33)

• The Brilliant Directories Lead System is a feature that enables website visitors to connect with professionals or businesses offering various services, allowing for automatic matching through the system (00:00:33).
• This system is particularly useful for new users of the Brilliant Directories platform, as well as those who haven’t utilized this functionality before, providing them with an essential tool for building directories (00:00:38).
• The Lead System on Brilliant Directories is designed to facilitate connections between website visitors and businesses or professionals that offer services they may need, making it a valuable resource for users (00:00:42).

What Sites Use the Lead Features? (00:01:04)

• The lead system is typically used on service-driven websites, such as those for fitness trainers, contractors, and event planners, where visitors are trying to find or connect with businesses (00:01:04).
• Directory sites, including yellow pages type of sites or local business directories that list businesses for a certain region, often utilize the lead system to connect consumers with professionals (00:01:22).
• The lead system is particularly useful for professionals like lawyers, contractors, and interior designers, who may be more likely to pay for leads, and consumers who want to fill out a form to get a quote, bid, or connect with these professionals (00:01:41).
• Various industries can use the lead system, but it is generally used by professionals who offer services that consumers would want to fill out a form to get connected with, and the industries that use this system are virtually infinite (00:02:03).
• The lead system is often used on membership directory websites where the visitor is trying to find or connect with businesses, and it works well when trying to connect a consumer or person with a type of professional (00:01:18).

BD Lead Form – Out Of The Box (00:02:15)

• The out-of-the-box lead form offered by Brilliant Directories collects basic information needed by professionals and works well for general inquiries across various niches, with features like on and off toggle settings to customize the form (00:02:21).
• The default lead form is ready to use and can be demonstrated using a demo site, such as the Bootstrap (front-end framework) site, where a user can fill out a lead form to send a message to a professional, like John Smith, and the professional receives an email notification about the lead (00:02:53).
• The lead form can be filled out by a user to send a message to a professional, and the professional can then purchase the lead to access the user’s contact information, such as email address and phone number, which can be used to close a sale or land a new client (00:03:28).
• The lead price can be set by the website owner to a nominal fee, and the professional can manage their leads by logging into their dashboard, where they can view lead information, such as the user’s name, location, and message, and purchase the lead to access the user’s contact information (00:04:34).
• After purchasing a lead, the professional can see the user’s email address, phone number, and other previously hidden fields, allowing them to contact the user and potentially close a sale or land a new client (00:05:26).
• The default lead system allows website owners to give leads to their members for free or charge a nominal fee, and professionals can receive email notifications about new leads and manage their leads through their dashboard (00:04:11).

Multi-Step Forms – What Are They? (00:05:50)

• Multi-step forms are utilized to take users through specific stages in order to submit their inquiry on a lead form, which typically includes many questions that need to be asked (00:05:50).
• These forms are designed to guide visitors through a series of steps, allowing them to provide the necessary information before submitting their inquiry (00:05:55).
• Multi-step forms can be useful in various scenarios, and understanding these scenarios can help determine when to implement such forms (00:06:09).

When to Use Multi-Step Forms (00:06:12)

• Multi-step forms are useful when trying to ask for more data in order to provide valuable leads to members, and some niches require more information for members to decide whether a lead is worth investing in (00:06:12).
• Multi-step forms allow for dividing questions in a more pleasant way, enabling the collection of more detailed answers, which is particularly beneficial when asking more than six to ten questions in a form (00:06:38).
• These forms are also useful when creating lead forms for different categories on a site, as directories often have multiple categories and require specific questions for each category (00:06:48).
• Using multi-step forms is recommended after trying the default functionality and outgrowing its features, and they are especially useful when members require more data to buy a lead, such as in the construction niche where additional information like project type is necessary (00:07:26).
• Asking more questions in a multi-step form can make a lead more valuable, as it indicates the person is more committed to following through and receiving a quote or bid, making the lead potentially more valuable even if it’s expensive (00:07:55).

Multi-Step Form Benefits (00:08:20)

• Using multi-step forms can help avoid form fatigue and psychological friction that occurs when users are presented with a long form containing many questions, which can lead to losing potential visitors from filling out the form (00:08:22).
• Multi-step forms typically include progress indicators that encourage users to move forward and finish completing the form, as they can see their progress and feel motivated to advance (00:08:49).
• Dividing the form into different steps allows for sensitive information to be placed in later steps, where users are more committed to completing the form, and makes the form seem less intimidating at first glance (00:09:01).
• Multi-step forms make the overall form less daunting for users, as they are not immediately presented with a large number of questions, and instead are guided through the process in smaller, more manageable steps (00:09:24).
• By splitting a long form into multiple steps, the process of filling out the form becomes less intimidating and more effortless for the user, increasing the likelihood that they will complete the form (00:09:36).

Multi-Step Lead Form Plugin Example 1 (00:09:50)

• The multi-step lead form plug-in is a feature that allows users to create forms with multiple steps, and it connects with the default Brilliant Directories lead form, making it easy to fill out and move forward with the form (00:09:50).
• The plug-in is demonstrated with a five-step form, where the first step only asks for the category, making it easy to fill out, and then subsequent steps ask for location, who to send the lead to, and other fields (00:10:16).
• The form can be filled out with sample information, such as selecting a category, adding a location, choosing who to send the lead to, and filling out the rest of the fields, and then submitting the form (00:10:43).
• The lead is then processed and matched to a specific person in the Brilliant Directories lead engine, and the form can be modified and customized using the Brilliant Directories dashboard and form manager (00:11:49).
• The lead step form plug-in allows users to select a form and organize the form fields into different steps and stages, and users can drag and drop fields, add new steps, and save changes to create a custom multi-step form (00:12:26).
• The plug-in can be embedded onto a web page within the Brilliant Directories website, and it takes care of navigating to the next page and previous page, making it easy to use and customize (00:12:53).

Multi-Step Lead Form Plugin Example 2 (00:13:36)

• The example website is a contractor directory website that features a menu with different categories, each redirecting to a lead form with specific questions for that category, such as roofing, with the goal of providing more detailed insights for members receiving the lead (00:13:36).
• The lead form for the roofing category is customized to ask questions related to roofing, including the type of roofing material, type of property, and presence of leaks or damage, to help ensure the lead is valid for the services offered (00:13:40).
• The form is designed to provide more detailed insights for the member receiving the lead, with questions that help determine the scope and value of the project, such as the type of property and the nature of the project (00:13:46).
• This example is more geared towards asking question after question until the lead is submitted, unlike the first example which allowed for more customization and selection of a specific member (00:15:08).
• The form is designed to be more “out of the box” and can be used to gather specific information about the project, such as the type of work needed, the nature of the project, and the presence of leaks or damage (00:15:17).
• The user can select the category and answer questions about the project, such as the type of work needed and the nature of the project, to provide more detailed insights for the member receiving the lead (00:15:45).
• The form can be used to gather information about the project, including the type of property, the presence of leaks or damage, and the scope of the project, to help the member receiving the lead understand the needs of the customer (00:15:59).
• The website is designed to redirect users to a lead form with specific questions for the selected category, such as roofing, after they click on a call to action to request a quote for roofing and gutter services (00:16:19).

How to Get the Multi-Step Lead Form (00:16:36)

• To get in touch with Gabe for more information, an email can be sent to support at treehousemarketing.org, as they offer a variety of tools beyond just the lead form (00:16:37).
• Gabe is also a part of the Brilliant Directories marketplace, where more information about the lead form can be found, and a link to the marketplace is provided for further details (00:16:50).
• The lead form is available as a plugin partner in the Brilliant Directories marketplace, and it has been made available by Gabe and his team, who have built a tool that showcases simplicity, complexity, and different use cases (00:16:56).